Eldest child of Henry and Harriet Coward, Henry served an apprenticeship at Sheffield as a pen blade maker. Though uneducated, he became a teacher at Greaseborough school; he later earned his Bachelor of Music at Oxford in 1889, and Doctor of Music in 1894. He conducted the Huddersfield choral society for 30 years, and is credited with reviving the tonic-sol-fa method which he used with singers from the mills an factories who could not read music. He conducted many Whit Sunday sings in Sheffield, including a performance before Queen Victoria. He became a Freeman of the City of Sheffield in 1920, and was knighted by King George V in 1927 for his services to music. He also traveled the world, and wrote. His works include: